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DETROIT (WWJ) – Nearly 200 people took to the streets Friday in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts to protest any sale of art to pay off the bankrupt city’s debts.

At the base of the steps to the entrance to the DIA chanting “Hands off the DIA.”

Joseph Coushier from the Socialist Equality Party, the organizer of the rally, told WWJ’s Stephanie Davis that the group gathered is saying ‘the art is not for sale.’

“Culture is a social right, we are opposed to the plans, the threats, of the emergency manager to sell off the art,” he said.

The latest statement from Detroit Emergency Manager Keyvn Orr on the issue: a challenge to trustees to come up with a proposal to leverage its collections to help resolve Detroit’s debt – if they don’t – he says he is obligated to find a solution.